In the film, Ranbir Kapoor plays Shiva, a man with supernatural powers, and Alia Bhatt as his love interest, Isha and Bachchan as Guruji.
In the film, Ranbir Kapoor plays Shiva, a man with supernatural powers, and Alia Bhatt as his love interest, Isha and Bachchan as Guruji.
Several delays, a pandemic and two lockdowns later, director Ayan Mukerji says he is happy with a fulfilling but arduous journey, making his dream project, “Brahmastra: Part One Shiva”, a mega-budget fantasy adventure that will eventually is ready to be released. in September.
Mukherjee, known for his youthful, slice-of-life dramas such as “Wake Up Sid” and “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani”, said the film gave him an opportunity to blend ancient Indian culture and spirituality with the contemporary world.
Mukherjee said in an interview, “I knew it would be a tough film, an uphill journey to embark on, but I thought I was doing something that was pioneering, innovative and original, it’s really new. “
“It took too long. It was such an insane investment of time that it kind of erased who I was. It’s been 10 years since my last film. I’ve forgotten who I was as a person before.” Who was it. It’s one of those long pregnancies that a director can do with a film. I’ll understand a lot once we give the project. But it was the kind of project that needed (time).”
Mukherjee hopes that “Brahmastra: Part One Shiva”, the first in the ambitiously planned trilogy, will mark the beginning of a new cinematic universe, ‘The Astraverse’.
The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as the protagonist Shiva, his actor-wife Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna Akkineni and Mouni Roy in the lead role.
The original idea, according to Mukherjee, was to set a film in modern India, yet draw inspiration from ancient Indian culture and spirituality as it revolved around the concept of ‘astra’ (weapon), which was created by sages. .
“The film is a meeting point of modern India with a spirit of ancient Indian powers which, in many ways, is our country. Like, we live in the modern world but Indians are a bit spiritual, closer to the faith, closer to the spirit That there is some God connecting us or hanging around us,” Mukherjee said ahead of the film’s trailer launch on June 15.
Fantasy adventure is one of the most under-utilized and high-risk genres in Bollywood, given the fact that such films demand huge budgets, but Mukherjee said his love for the genre and mythology challenged him. inspired to take
“I loved Indian myths while growing up and I loved western fantasy stories, which I used to read a lot like ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Harry Potter.’ I liked some Hollywood blockbuster movies, like ‘Lord’ ‘Of the Rings’ trilogy, Marvel movies. I loved that they were able to use technology and bring their fictional story to life in the form of blockbuster cinema.”
“I wanted to do the same thing but I wanted to draw from things that existed in India and what I understood and felt throughout my life. There was a good opportunity because no one had done it before, probably because we wanted to work with technology. I was not comfortable, did not have the budget…”
In the film, Kapoor plays Shiva, a man with supernatural powers, and Bhatt plays his love interest Isha and Bachchan as Guruji.
The stories and characters may change in Mukherjee’s film but Kapoor has been a constant part of the director’s filmography, which he attributes to their shared understanding.
“Working with some other talent could have been interesting because working with new people also gives you something. Like Ranbir gets a chance to work with other directors. But we have a good connection and understanding. Ranbir is a talented actor and superstar and he has a lot of faith and belief in my work.” Getting stars like Bachchan, Bhatt and Akkineni was “unbelievable” for the director as he believed he gave the film a certain look. height which would not have been possible otherwise.
He said, there was something in ‘Brahmastra’ that everyone we used to contact with, they used to board it. Be it Alia or Nagarjuna or Mr Bachchan, who is a big deal to have in my film… Mr Bachchan has always liked the idea of ancient Indian ‘astras’ in the modern world. He told me that this concept will work with people.”
“Brahmastra Part One: Shiva” is a joint production of Star Studios, Dharma Productions, Prime Focus and Starlight Pictures.
The magnum opus will release theatrically on September 9, 2022 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
Now that the film is gearing up for release, Mukherjee hopes that people will connect with the story he has been living with for a decade.
On ‘Brahmastra’, I understand that nothing comes easy. We have to go through ‘agni pariksha’ (fire test) to let Shiva’s fire (fire) come on the big screen. Hope to see reward and result will be good.”